Ignition apparatus



Ag- 13, 1957 G. A. GUERNSEY ET AL 2,802,970

' IGNITION APPARATUS I Filed Feb. 25, A1954 5 Shee'bS-Shee't l MMA/fw Aug- 13, 1957 G. A. GUERNSEY ETAL 2,802,970

IGNITION APPARATUS Filed Feb'. 25, 1954 5 sheets-sheet 2 fnnnnnl 111.1111 111,110,111,"11111111211.` *g

INVENTORS 'Ze-r; l Guernsey,

Jwz 6T Garen,

Aug. 13, 1957 G. A. GUERNSEY ET AL 2,802,970

IGNITION APPARATUS Filed Feb. 25, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 zo f /j l, /J

Waff-M- IGNITION APPARATUS Glen A. Guernsey and .lohn C. Garen, West Springfield,

Mass., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Globe- Union Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,964

2 Claims. (Cl. 317-99) This invention relates to improvements in. ignition apparatus of the condenser-discharge type.

The object of the invention is to provide a novel form of member for supporting various elements of the apparatus, such as the ignition coils, the rectiliers and the condenser, in their proper locations Within an enclosing housing.

The invention enables the various elements to be readily and conveniently assembled in the supporting member before the latter is inserted within the housing. After the assembly of the elements in the supporting member has been completed, the member together with elements assembled therein is inserted as one unit into the housing and suitably iixed in place. Then, after a few electrical connections between certain elements and terminals on the housing have been made, the box may be lilled with suitable insulating material and closed.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to the one illustrative embodiment of it shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an ignition apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus, as it appears when the cover of the housing box is removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken on the line .3v-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view, taken similarly to Fig. l and showing a modification; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to these drawings; the ignition apparatus is housed within a metal box A (Figs. 3 and 4), having a bottom wall 1 and, upstanding from the latter, two side walls 2 and two end walls 3. For supporting the various elements of the apparatus in their proper locations within this box, a member B (Fig. 2) of H-shaped formation is provided. This supporting member has two laterallyspaced, parallel and longitudinally-extending parts 4, the outer faces of which lie closely adjacent to and substantially parallel with the side walls 2 and the end faces of which lie closely adjacent to the end walls 3. The member B also has a cross bar or bridge 5 which interconnects the two parts 4 intermediate their ends. This member B closely fits within the box and rests upon the bottom wall 1 thereof. The supporting member (Figs. 3 and 4) is of less height than the side and end walls of the box and may be held against vertical displacement in any suitable way, as for example, by screws 6 (Figs. 2 and 5), which pass through the side walls 2 and thread into the member. The member B may be made of any suitable material and, as shown herein, it is made of insulating material, such for example, as wood.

Mounted in the two spaces between the parts 4 on opnited States Patent posite sides of the bridge 5 (Fig. 2) are two ignition coils C of usual form. Each coil (Fig. 5) has primary and secondary windings 7 and 8, respectively, and is mounted on a laminated-iron core 9, herein shown as a two-piece member of hollow rectangular shape. Each core 9 projects beyond both end faces of the coil that it supports and these projecting parts of the core are received, one in each of two vertical grooves 10, formed one in each of the two confronting inner faces 11 of parts 4. At the lower end of each groove 10 is a shoulder 12 against which the lower face of core 9 abuts in order to locate it, and the coil C carried thereby, at the proper vertical position in box A. The coils C are thereby also properly spaced from the end walls 3 and side walls 2 of the box A and from the cover 13 which closes it as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The cores 9 are retained in position against vertical displacement in their grooves 9 by means of straps 14, one for each core, which straps abut the upper ends of the cores, rest on top of the parts 4 and are each secured thereto by screws 15.

The bridge 5 (Figs. 3 and 4) serves to support a condenser and two rectifiers in proper locations within box A. To this end, the bridge 5 is provided with three vcrtically-disposed cylindrical holes or wells 16, located in longitudinally-spaced relation in a row. The intermediate well 16 receives a cylindrical metallic case 17 which contains the condenser and to which one terminal of the condenser is electrically connected. The other terminal 0f the condenser is carried by an insulating post 18 and includes a clamping screw 19. A ground Wire 19' for the condenser is connected to the bottom of its case 17 and extends out through a hole in the bottom of its well 16. In each end well 16 is mounted a rectifier which may be of the selenium cell type and comprises a stack of disks 20, the lowermost resting on a metal disk 21 to which is connected a wire 22. This wire (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) passes out through a small hole 23 in the bottom of the well, through a space 24 beneath bridge 5 and thence upwardly through a groove 25 in the side of bridge 5 to the high tension terminal 26 of the ignition coil C. On top of each stack of rectier disks 2t) (Fig. 4) is a coil spring 27. A metal strap 28 overlies all three of the wells 16 and is clamped to the top of bridge 5 by two screws 29. When thus clamped, the springs 27 are compressed whereby to press together the disks 20 of the rectifier stacks and also electrically connect them to the strap 28. The screw 19 of the condenser (Fig. 3) serves to clamp the strap 28 to the condenser terminal within post 18 and thus support the condenser in its well 16 as well as to electrically conncct one terminal of the condenser to strap 28 and thus to one terminal of each rectifier.

Fixed, as indicated, to cover 13 (Fig. 3) directly above the screw 19 of the condenser is a metal socket 30 which is adapted to receive a terminal on the end of a shielded high-tension cable and to which such terminal may bc clamped by a nut 31. The shield of this cable is marked 32, its insulation 33 and its wire 34. This terminal includes a sleeve 35 of insulation and within the sleeve a metal washer 36 to which an end of wire 34 is connected. Within sleeve 35 is the head 37 of a plunger 38 and between the washer 36 and head 37 is a spring 39 which presses the plunger downwardly into engagement with the condenser screw 19.

The cover 13 (Fig. l) also has three terminal bolts 40, each fixed to and insulated from the cover as shown in Fig. 3 and having nuts 41, between which the ends of external lead wires may be clamped. These terminals 40 are adapted for connection, as by wires such as 42 (Fig. 3), to the primary windings 7 of the ignition coils C.

In use, the condenser 17 and rectifier disks 20 are mounted in their wells 16 in the bridge 5. The Wires 22 and 19 will be passed through the holes 23 in the bottoms of the wells. The strap 28 -will then be fastened by the screws 29 to retain the rectiiiers and condenser in their Wells. The wires 21 are bent upwardly and placed in grooves 25 and the ground wire 19 of the condenser is led laterally to one of the side parts 4 of the support B, as shown in Fig. 2, and through a groove 44 in the bottom of this part 4 and thence upwardly in a vertical groove 45 in the outer face of this part. With the upper ends of these three wires held vertically, the ignition coils C are mounted in the support B by sliding their cores 9 downwardly in the grooves 10 until they abut shoulders 12 and then applying the straps 14 and screws 15 to clamp the cores in place. The wires 22 are then fastened one to each terminal button 26. The other terminal of each secondary winding 8 (Fig. 2) is connected to a wire 46. The terminals of the primary winding are connected to wires 42 which are reln atively long. The support B, carrying all the elements described is then inserted into box A and secured thereto, as by the screws 6. Then the wires 46 are soldered to one of the side walls 2 of the box as indicated in M Fig. 2. The condenser ground wire 19 is also connected to wall 2, being soldered thereto with one of the wires 46. Then the wires 42 are connected to the terminals 4t) on the cover 13, these wires being long enough, of course, to enable the connections to be made while the cover 13 is removed from the box A. Then, the parts in the box are potted by filling the box with a suitable insulating compound, after which the cover 13 is placed on the box and suitably xed thereto, as by screws 47 (Figs. l and 3).

As an alternative to potting the parts in box A, the box may be filled with oil and then hermetically sealed. In such case, the various terminals will be of the well known hermetic seal type. For example, the

parts of the central terminal will be divided and one part will be mounted above and the other below a glass disk 50 which has a metal ange 51 secured, as by soldering, to cover 13. There will be no passage extending through the socket 30, as in Fig. 3, and the insulating sleeve 35 with its spring-pressed plunger 38, will be mounted in a suitable hole in a metal hub 49 depending from disk 56, which hole has no connection with the socket 31) although the latter and hub 49 are metallically and thus electrically connected. The other terminals are likewise divided with one part, such as a stud 40, projecting upwardly from a central metallic part within a glass disk 52 and the other part, such as a stud 40', projecting downwardly from such part. A nut 41 is provided for the lower stud 40. The metallic flange 53 of the glass disk 52 is soldered to cover 13 and the cover itself is soldered to the walls 2 and 3 of the box. This arrangement, which hermetically seals all parts within the box A and prevents escape of the liquid insulating medium, is preferred where it is desirable to repair or replace parts in the eld. The cover is removed by melting the solder, after which the parts may be removed and the oil wiped off much more readily than can the viscous material that is usually used for potting the parts.

The invention thus provides an improved means for supporting ignition coils, rectifiers and condenser within an enclosing housing that may be filled with suitable insulating material. The invention enables convenient assembly of the parts within one common supporting member, which may thereafter be inserted into the enclosing housing and surrounded by suitable insulating material.

What is claimed is:

l. Ignition apparatus, comprising, a box having a bottom wall and side and end walls upstanding from the bottom wall, a supporting member resting on said bottom wall and fixed to the box, said member being of less height than said side and end walls and having two laterally-spaced longitudinally-extending parts extending one along each side wall and a bridge interconnecting said parts intermediate the ends thereof, said parts having in their inner and confronting faces pairs of opposed vertical grooves located one pair on each side of said bridge, two ignition coils each having a core projecting beyond opposite ends thereof, tne projecting ends of such core being engaged one in each of a pair of confronting grooves for longitudinal sliding movement and supporting its coil between said parts and above said grooves for longitudinal sliding movement and supporting its coil between said parts and above said bottom wall and spaced from the adjacent end wall, means for retaining each core against sliding movement in its grooves, said bridge having three vertical wells therein spaced one from another in a row, a condenser in the intermediate well of said row, a rectifier in each end well of said row, a common metallic member overlying all said wells and serving to retain the condenser and the rectifiers against movement in their respective wells and to electrically connect one terminal of cach rectifier to one terminal of the condenser, a cover for the box, and insulating material filling the box and surrounding said member and cores.

2. The combination, as claimed in claim l, in which an electric terminal is xed to and insulated from the cover of the box and includes a spring-pressed metallic plunger engaging said metallic member for electrical connection therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,998,378 Mallory Apr. 16, 1935 2,418,531 Tognola Apr. 8, 1947 2,422,303 Jacob June 17, 1947 

